Southside Sips: Pacific Breeze Negroni

Sometimes even the best, most classic, perfectly balanced cocktails can get kind of… boring.

It often happens when choice-panic sets in. When you can’t think of anything else to order and the only thing you can come up with, despite the zillions of combinations and types of spirits, and types of spirits within spirits, and liqueurs, other mixers, garnishes and glassware to put it all in, is [fill in the blank boring drink you had on half a dozen recent occasions]. Someone comes to ask for your order, and all you can do is say: Negroni.

Now, I’m not picking on the Negroni. Not at all. It’s a great three-ingredient drink. I might be picking on myself, though, because sometimes that drink is the only drink that I can think of when faced with a multitude of choices (and no cocktail menu). And also, it’s a drink that’s become a little bit ubiquitous over the last bunch of years. There’s the White Negroni (which is actually pretty damn delicious), the Sbagliato (Prosecco for gin), the Kingston Negroni (rum), the Chocolate Negroni (creme de cacao), the Boulevardier (whiskey), the Mezcal Negroni (obvious), the Phony Negroni (no booze).

But sometimes what you really want is that familiar thing, but with a little armchair travel component to give it some far-flung flair. When our friends over at Aviation Gin (sold pretty much everywhere, but lately I’ve been digging the small, well-curated wines and spirits at Noyac Liquors, 3354 Noyack Road, Sag Harbor) sent us this riff with just a kiss of coconut liqueur, it made me think, okay, I don’t have to give up on my Negronis, I can just … tropicalize them a bit. Until I’m ready to come back home.